13 Going On 30

13 GOING ON 30

REVIEWED BY STEPHANIE VALE

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sexual implications and innuendo

Rated:

“30, flirty & thriving. 30, flirty & thriving. 30, flirty & thriving…”

It’s 1987. Jenna Rink (Jennifer Garner) makes a wish on her 13^th birthday, wanting to be cool to fit in with the popular girls at her high school, the “6 chicks” clique. Brace-face and somewhat nerdy Jenna invites them all to her 13^th birthday party. Just before they show up, her neighbor-and-best friend Matt “Mattie” (Mark Ruffalo) gives her a dollhouse along with some magical “wishing dust.” She likes the dollhouse and thanks him for it, but quickly hides it in a closet when the other kids arrive. When Jenna is tricked into going into a closet to play a game of “7 second heaven” (a cruel practical joke played on her by the popular girls: they all ditch, grab the snacks, and leave her there), Jenna wishes away her childhood, wanting to be “30, flirty and thriving.” Some of the magic dust falls off the dollhouse, onto her head as she chants: “30, flirty and thriving.”

Next morning, she wakes up in a strange apartment in a pink negligee as a 30-year old woman! Totally confused, and scared by the naked man in her shower (her hockey-player boyfriend, Phil; she ran away when she saw his “thingey”) she rushes outside where her best friend Lucy (Judy Greer) is waiting with a car. Lucy is a little bewildered when Jenna doesn’t acknowledge her and refuses to ride with a “stranger." Lucy finally convinces her to get in the car (after Jenna sees Phil in the window), and they drive to work. Jenna fumbles and faux paus’ her way through a day in “her” life as fashion editor of Poise magazine (endearingly performed by Jennifer Garner). Soon she realizes that she doesn’t like the person she has become: she doesn’t have many friends, she never talks to her parents, she is a back-stabber, cheater, liar, and more.

But things about Jenna’s 30 year-old life start to change: she befriends people she didn’t before, dresses cuter and younger, and just acts completely different than her “usual” self. One of the funniest moments in the film comes when Jenna livens up a totally dead Poise party by getting everyone to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” with her. It was absolutely hilarious, and the whole audience was dying with laughter. Jenna tracks down her childhood best friend Mattie to see if she can find out why she went to bed as 13 year old and woke up 30, and discovers they stopped being friends a long time ago. Mattie, who has grown from a rather chunky kid to a rather hunky man, is now engaged to a weatherwoman from Chicago. When Jenna realizes what a gem she has lost in Matt (she calls him the sweetest guy she has ever known) she can’t believe what she has given up. With the wedding only two weeks away, will it be too late for Jenna and Mattie?!

This film was a cute and endearing film full of childish moments and humorous bits, although beware of a bit of adult content. A woman wears a negligee around her apartment (and to work with a jacket over it). Jenna grabs and holds her breasts (for a few seconds) to make sure they are real. Jenna's boyfriend emerges from the shower and whips off his towel (she blocks it with an umbrella but confesses to her friend later that she saw his "thingey"). Many of the outfits are low-cut and revealing. There's a mention of "are you on drugs?!", an affair is mentioned between a married man and a single woman, a man is inferred as being gay, people drink at various parties, a small amount of talk about sex (more inferred than actual talk: Jenna thinks her friend is talking about other innocent activities). A grown woman flirts with a young man for a few seconds (nothing happens). There are 3 uses of b*tch, 5 uses of street slang for the same thing, 1 of a*s, and a few of G*d. There is a scene where a man strips down to his underwear (pulls off his shirt and pants to reveal briefs) and dances for a few uncomfortable seconds.

Obviously reminiscent of past films like Tom Hank’s Big, nontheless this story was well written, very funny and well told, with stars Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo absolutely making the film. Their chemistry was very believable and you just can’t help rooting for them to finally get together. Jennifer’s “I’m a 13 in a 30-year- old’s body” was very done with many funny moments (although some were a bit immoral and played for humor). I would say this film is well worth the watch and just might make you think twice about wishing your life away. This film actually makes a good point: if you have something good, don’t mess it up by ruining your life by making bad choices (letting the good thing get away in the process): if you have something worth holding onto, hold on.